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We kicked off an American Moments photo contest last week and are so impressed with the quality and range of images you’ve sent in that we had to share a few here on the blog. Submit yours by July 21 for a chance to win a Leica D-Lux (Type 109) camera, Phillips membership, and more.

Photo: Isabella Achenbach

Texas Special by Isabella Achenbach
This 35mm film photograph captures a middle aged man working one of the games booths at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas in October, 2014. The man’s energy (and lung capacity) was a site to behold, even amongst the crowds of people eating fried twinkies and turkey legs. The State Fair of Texas brought kids with face paint, angsty teenagers, parents with full hands, and grandparents with matching Dallas Cowboys football t-shirts together in one place. The fair has taken place every year since 1886, and while I believe this photograph is timelessly American, it is still rooted in the contemporary American lifestyle. In keeping with The Phillips Collection’s commitment to contemporary photography, but also acknowledging the photographs exhibited in American Moments, I selected a documentary-style photograph that is vibrantly colorful but still shot on film and hand developed.

Photo: Luca Bartolini

What I Don’t Know by Luca Bartolini
People have always been on the move in America. The means of transportation have changed, but our faces have not. On the metro people are in a limbo, where their thoughts become fluid and blend with the background noise. Their anger and despair is only perceived by the tiny contractures of their facial muscles. Like in Bruce Davidson’s Sitting in the Back of the Bus, people keep going, maybe not knowing where, but just knowing that they are alive.

Yesterday, we launched a photo contest in conjunction with this summer’s American Moments photography exhibition. Through July 21, show us your interpretation of an American Moment today for a chance to win a Leica D-Lux (Type 109) camera, your image on a postcard, Phillips membership, and more. Looking for some inspiration? We let staff loose in the city to get the wheels turning with some examples:

Photo: Emily Conforto

Beauty in the Breakdown
This image was inspired by various photographs depicting city development featured in the “Labor” section of the American Moments exhibition. Much like the works of Bruce Davidson and Lewis Hine in the 20th century, this picture seeks to capture the beauty that still exists in American urban development today.

Photo: Allyson Hitte

The Fuel of America
While famous monuments and memorials may epitomize America herself, in the 21st century, nothing can compete with Starbucks. The act of picking up your standard drink in the morning before work or at lunch and enjoying that feeling of having that special cup and boost of energy defines a true American Moment.

Photo: Emily Conforto

Through the lens of the iPhone
This photograph captures the iconic American view of the Washington Monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. A man holding a “selfie stick” on the right exemplifies the way new technologies have revolutionized the idea of photography in the 21st century.